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What if the doctor told you had only 6 months left to live? How would you live your life?

What would you do? Where would you go? Who would you go and see? What would you do on a daily basis? What would you commit the rest of your life to? How would you utilize your remaining time? What would really matter to you then that doesn’t matter to you now? And what matters to you now that wouldn’t matter to you then?

What would you stop doing? What would you start doing? What would you do more of? What would you do less of?

How would you live out the remainder of your days?

And when your time finally comes and you leave the body, what would people say about you at your funeral? What would you want to be said? And how can you live now so that you ensure those words are said, not because you tell someone to say them, but because you lived them fully?

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Nothing like some deep reflection and contemplation to gain (or regain) a wholesome, grounded perspective on life.

The truth is, none of know when our time is going to come. Today very well might be our last day – who knows! (Disclaimer: apparently the scriptures do say that the time of death is already pre-determined and set at birth, but how we die is not – so if one was really sincere and pure of heart, one could probably know the time of one’s death by using muscle testing, but alas – for the purposes of this – let us pretend that we cannot know when the time comes 🙂 – or at least that we do not know currently.)

Death is sneaky, is it not? It pounces on so many unexpectedly, each day. It lurks in the shadows behind the unaware. But, to the awake – it sits peacefully around them – for the awake are not afraid of death – so death gives up the game of trying to scare them and becomes friendly toward them.

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When we muster the courage to consciously face death and consider its implication, death becomes one of our greatest servants. Living in the light of death is incredibly powerful to awaken us to a higher order of being.

If we walk into a store and consider we might die tomorrow, the chances of us being friendly and kind toward the people in the store increases dramatically. If, on the other hand, we live in the ignorance of thinking we will live forever in this human form and that we are invulnerable to death, then we may forget other people are around us and instead live in the world of our own internal drama.

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Generally, I prefer love as a motivator rather than fear, although if we let the fear of death, or rather the awareness of the possibility of death, motivate us, then at least that will help wake us up to the opportunity and gift of this lifetime. Human birth is rare indeed, hence the Great Teachers like the Buddha urge us to make use of this lifetime and wake up to the Supreme Realization, the Ultimate Truth of Reality – or at least to pursue it to the very best of our ability!

It is easy to understand sense pleasures and the desire to spend an entire life eating cookies and cake, having sex or masturbating all the time, listening to music and watching movies non-stop. Our primitive self understands the short-term, fleeting pleasure of life that come today and go tomorrow. What is more difficult for us to understand is the Truth of Reality – that which is Permanent and Real. The power of living in the context of death is that it may awaken us to the idea of living for the Permanent, rather than the impermanent.

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The movie Groundhog Day comes to mind. In that movie, the lead character basically receives a strange blessing/curse where he lives the same day over and over again. Every morning he wakes up and it is Groundhog Day. Eventually, he catches on to the idea that this situation might go on forever, so in many ways he realizes he is living in the midst of Eternity. Initially, in his first few days/weeks of living the same day over and over again, he lives a self-centered, egoistic life. He pursues his carnal pleasures and appetites. He goes to a diner and orders a whole plate of donuts, and he attempts to sleep with various women. He is focused on getting and gaining for himself. Only gradually, as he lives the same day over and over again, does he realize that selfishly seeking pleasure and gain just for himself is not as rewarding or fulfilling as we might naturally think. He discovers that there is actually a much greater fulfillment found in living to serve others. He goes on to live his Groundhog Day focused on serving others, giving wherever he can, saving lives, catching people falling out of trees, bringing people coffee in the morning, entertaining people, and generally – loving people! The great joys of Loving and Serving transform his life, for the best. Finally, he lives what appears to be a perfectly selfless day, where he does nothing for himself but simply lives only to be of service. He wakes up the next morning and it is no longer Groundhog Day, and he receives the great fortune of going on to live the next day and the rest of his life having learned one of the greatest lessons of all: “Joy in life comes from living for the welfare of all.” – Mahatma Gandhi

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So, whether we feel like the man in Groundhog Day and think we might live forever, or if we live with the consideration that we might very well die today, tomorrow, or 6 months from now – we generally arrive at the same conclusion: Some things matter, and some things don’t. When we live our life aligned with the things that truly matter, we experience great peace and joy, supreme satisfaction and fulfillment. When we live our live serving the things that don’t matter and satisfying our short-term sense cravings and pleasures, we experience a momentary spike in enjoyment, but just as quickly as it came, so it goes. The piece of cake only leaves us wanting more donuts and less fat on our bodies. We can never win that way.

Don’t get me wrong – I think donuts are great and will happily eat one – especially if it is given to me as a gift. The point is, what really matters? Does satisfying the sense cravings matter, or does serving others? What will make me happy not only in this moment, but also an hour from now, three hours from now, three weeks from now, three years from now, and for the rest of my life? One of the best investments we can make is in developing a positive, generous, loving, grateful, and service-oriented attitude. With an inclination to be of service wherever we go, wherever we are – we can live and be anywhere – freely and fearless. In any moment, if we are willing to give of ourselves, to give of our very best, to give everything we have, what is there to fear? Fear only arises when we are holding back, when we live in the illusion of separateness, when we think we can take our earthly treasures with us beyond the grave. What is there to fear if we are loving fully and completely, giving without reserve, and holding nothing back? If we are giving our best, and even if our best looks pathetic, we at least having nothing to regret. If we live this moment to the fullest, we can live with peace in our hearts and die without regrets.

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What would you regret if you died today? Would you feel like you feel fulfilled in the service you rendered for humanity and God? Would you be able to look back on your life with a sense of great peace in all that you did and how you develop a human being and spiritual being? If not, what would you change about how you are living now so that you would feel better about the life you lived on your death bed?

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Whenever we are feeling down about life, we can ask, “What is the worst that can happen?” Even if the answer is, “Death,” what is the worst thing about death? Did we somehow think we were going to avoid it forever? Did we think that our human animal would be exempt from death?

Human life is a great gift, and yet death is not so bad either. Death can serve us if we wake up to it. Death is an incredible servant. Being at Peace with death helps us to love life. And, if we can be at peace with death, we can live in peace during our life.

Every moment is a gift. Every moment contains the possibility of life or death. There is no guarantee as far as the human can be aware of (except for the enlightened few!).

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If we think to ourselves, “What would I do if I only had 6 months left to live?” and the answer comes that we would quit our job – why not quit the job now? Why wait?

Why would we ever have a job in the first place if we don’t love and enjoy it? Why would we ever subject ourselves to misery? Did we forget that we are Children of God and worthy of all the very best that life has to offer? Did we forget that God takes care of the birds, so why would we he not take care of us?

When we remember we are worthy of all the very best life has to offer, and as a rule we should live with joy and peace in our hearts as best we can, then we still doing things out of fear. Sometimes, we do a job we don’t like to do because we have a fear of scarcity that would lead to our demise. We think, “If I don’t have this job, how will I make money, and how will I feed myself, and how will I survive? I know I don’t like this job, but I have to do it to make money so I can survive.” Well…if that’s the case…what is the point of even perpetuating your own existence if you aren’t enjoying it – what kind of service is that providing to anyone?

We think that the service we offer to humanity is in the things that we do – but really more powerful than anything we do in the water is who and what we have become. Our level of consciousness – you could say our level of alignment with Love, Peace, and Truth – is more valuable and powerful than anything we can tangibly do with our physical body in the world. Even if we give an inspiration talk to 10,000 people that transforms them all into vegetarians and thereby saves 1,000,000 animals’ lives, what does it matter if we have not love in our hearts? One fully enlightened counterbalances the negativity of all of humanity. Becoming unconditionally loving and perfectly peaceful is a far greater service than anything we can do on the worldly plane. To live in true peace, we must remember that what really matters is not what we do, but what we become. The Unseen Essence of our Life and Being is far more powerful than the minutia of our day-to-day living and daily tasks.

Even considering this service of writing, what is truly valuable in this writing is not the words, but really the energy I feel when writing. Writing this way opens my heart and aligns me more with Truth, Love, and Service, raising my level of consciousness and serving everyone. Even if no one ever reads these words, this process has greatly served. And, for anyone that may read these words, the service is not so much in the intellectual processing of the words but what kind of mark the words may leave on your life as a whole and how they may facilitate any transformation of character or consciousness.

As I’ve heard said, real education leads to behavioral change. If there is no behavioral change, there is no education. Keep in mind, behavioral change can be subtle, like even the slightest increased tendency to smile at people who pass you on the street or who ring up your groceries at the store. In the case of this writing, the practical value may just be an increased tendency to ponder life and death and to consider, “How would I live if I only had 6 months left to live?”

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In today’s world, we might think giving anyone 6 months to live is even generous. It may only be 3 months! But, I think Brian Tracy asked the question with the 6 month time frame because that amount of time actually allows for significant accomplishments on the worldly level. In 6 months, one could probably travel around a far bit of the world, or write a book, or do all sorts of things. 3 months might be too gloomy of an outlook. Ultimately the point remains the same. This life is a gift. It is sacred, and best enjoyed when cherished. God is present at all times, everywhere. There is no place where God is not. Humans are not the holes in the swiss cheese to God – yes, God fills even us. So in any moment is the possibility of awakening to the Divine Presence, and with an awakening like that, every moment reveals itself as totally Full, Complete, and Perfect. Beauty is evident. There is only Love.

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When I consider only having 6 months left to live (especially after the process of writing the), it becomes apparent that pursuing the spiritual goal is the most valuable focus. As the saying goes, “Seek first the Kingdom of God and all else shall be added unto you.” Even if I did want to have the whole world, the best way to achieve that is seek first the Kingdom of God, the Kingdom Within.

Nonetheless, I guess I still cling somewhat to the illusion of the world and the idea of serving people rather than just focusing directly on serving and loving God the whole time…but that’s probably not such a bad thing 😉 So, because I currently have some sense of “wanting” to contribute to humanity and offer the best of what I have, I also like the idea of writing. With 28 years of living, and having done some pretty cooky things, I probably have some valuable words to share – yet then again, I would choose reading the New Testament over these words any day 😉 At the same time, we are all different points along the journey, so even if the New Testament is a more powerful spiritual text than these words (more aligned with the Supreme, Love, etc.) for some people along the journey, they are not ready for those words, and these words may serve them better – so who knows!

As I mentioned before, I do feel the primary value of these words is the process I am experiencing, and any benefit to the readers is secondary. Level of consciousness matters supremely – so if these words raise my consciousness – that is fantastic! – and by raising the level of the sea, all boats are lifted. Serving one serves all. We are not separate. We are One. Likewise, if these words raise your level of consciousness, Hallelujah! And that serves the All as well.

So what really matters?

With only 1 day left to live, 6 months, or an Eternity, what really matters is the same.

Love.

Peace.

Truth.

The Great Spiritual Texts – The New Testament, Bhagavad Gita, Yoga Sutras, Upanishads, Zohar, Cloud of Unknowing, Tao Te Ching, Dhammapada, etc. – all are like direct gifts from God to humanity. It is absurd how powerful they are. The truths contained in such scriptures may make absolutely no sense to the ego and to the intellectual, rational mind, but with enough courage and willingness to test out the teachings and put them into practice in your day-to-day life, all the truths reveal themselves as self-evident. Scriptures come from direct experience, not mere philosophizing.

We need to own our identity as Divine and realize that the experiences of Christ, Buddha, Mother Theresa, St. Francis, Moses, etc., are all available to us. We are not separate. Christ lives within everyone one of us. Doesn’t He say, “And greater works shall you do.” ?

And greater works shall you do! Love is infinitely powerful. It is more powerful than fear. One loving thought counterbalances all the negative thoughts one could think in a day. “Perfect Love casts out fear.”

Choose Love. Choose Peace.

Would knowing how long you are going to live with the physical form you now have change the way you live? How so? How would you live if you only had 1 day to live? 1 week? 1 month? 1 year?

Wouldn’t it be amazing if we lived in such a way that we would choose to live that way regardless of how long we were destined to live? When we are doing our very best and truly listening to our heart and deepest calling in life, there is nothing to fear and there is only Love. Then it doesn’t matter when we live or die, because in this very moment, we are giving our all, for all the All.

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Glory to God in the Highest! All Power and All Glory is Thine, O Lord. Amen.

Note: This exercise was first introduced to me by Brian Tracy, and some of the guiding questions also come from Stephen Covey and Bob Proctor. So grateful for all the wonderful teachers 🙂

Over the past 3-4 months, I’ve immersed in the world of investments, and the most enticing field of investing at the moment is that of cryptocurrencies – including but not limited to Bitcoin.

Prior to just a few months ago, I never seriously considered investing money in anything. I didn’t have a significant amount of money so it seemed like a non-issue that never even crossed my mind. It wasn’t until I signed up to take a coaching program with Eben Pagan that I actually began to ponder the notion of investing. In the program, which was actually a training to become a coach, one thing Eben addressed was what to do with all the new income that will follow with one becoming a coach. He talked about investing and some and giving some to charity. I’ve certainly familiarized myself with giving to charity (*pat on the back* ;-)) but investing seemed somewhat foreign.

Only a day or so after hearing about the idea of investing money, I realized I accumulated a decent amount of savings over the course of the year – at least enough to invest some of it. After all, it is just going to sit still otherwise, right? So somehow I then got subscribed to a newsletter about investing in stocks, signed up for an account on ally.com. A day or so after purchasing some stock, a friend then mentioned Bitcoin to me, and has it sure been one heckuva a divine comedy from there 🙂

Actually – full disclosure – even after hearing about Bitcoin, I was still fascinated with researching stocks and cutting-edge technology, including the Internet of Things, CRSPR, and sure enough, the blockchain. Eventually, researching blockchain technology and exploring the glories of coinmarketcap.com trumped researching any other stock offerings on the NASDAQ.

If you go to to coinmarketcap.com, you’ll see a list of cryptocurrencies. On many days, scrolling through the list, you’ll see a sea of green +++ signs next to all the currencies, meaning they are all increasing in value. Of course, other days you’ll see a sea of red. It goes up and down, in decently large amounts. In any one day, one coin might go up 20, 50, or even 100% – and another coin might go down the same amount or more.

With such volatility, it is easy to have ‘weak hands’ and want to sell off a coin as it is dipping, and try to hop on board the great ‘pump’ of another coin…it is a common error I’ve made many times at this point – and suffice it to say, I think my days of hopping on ‘pump and dumps’ are pretty much over. I’ve found great peace in putting my funds into well-researched and confirmed solid investments. There is nothing like the peace that comes from doing one’s own due diligence and/or the peace of surrendering to the guidance of experts. Granted, the space of cryptocurrency is so new that it is hard to officially someone an expert, but some people know more than others. Of course, even after hearing the advice from a so-called expert, doing my own due diligence to follow up on their recommendation has always helped the peace prevail.

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Okay – so what is the point of all this?

Well – cryptocurrencies are a wild ride, and they are an absolutely primed space for rapid growth, both on the physical and spiritual planes. Your physical, financial portfolio may balloon, or it may shrink, but in either case – there is great opportunity for spiritual growth.

One of the primary delusions that humans suffer from is the projection of happiness externally. We think happiness is something to be found outside of ourselves in the physical world. In this instance, regarding finances, we often think, even if only on a very subtle level, that, “If I have more money, then I’ll be happy.” Of course, money is one of those that almost everyone in the world would say, “Yes, I could use a little more.” Even billionaires attempt to amass greater wealth. Why is that? Delusion. We think happiness is something to be found outside of ourselves. We are deluded and tricked. To be fair, from a higher level awareness and embracing the truth that, “Life is for fun,” then yes – certainly one can continue to put in some effort toward amassing wealth the rest of their life, regardless of how much they have, and it does not deter them spiritually in any way. Having money or not having money is not the issue – the issue is if we consider it a source of happiness or not. Have we tricked ourselves into thinking we’re dependent on a certain amount of money to be happy?

There is a saying: “The greatest man in history was also the poorest.” Arguably, this saying is referring to Jesus, or it could be referring to Gandhi, or St. Francis, or any one of the other countless spiritual giants who gave away all physical possessions so that they might be of maximum service to the whole of Creation and to the Lord. This isn’t to say go and give away everything you have, but certainly if you do – you will find yourself in a very powerful space, primed for rapid spiritual growth. In a similar way, just imagining that everything physical is lost and coping with it can be incredibly powerful and liberating.

Over the course of this 3-4 month cryptocurrency playground I’ve been frolicking in, I’ve lost a decent amount of money, I’ve earned a decent amount of money, and I’ve certainly felt very hard on myself for ‘missing’ the ‘big trade’ of the day. On any given day in crypto world, there is a coin that goes up 100% – it is almost guaranteed. On a day like today, I happened to own that coin – but in a very small quantity (less than 5% of my portfolio). So, what’s the lesson? Peace in diversity! Yes, it would be great to have 25% or more of my portfolio in that coin that went up 100%, but the chances of that are slim, and the risk is higher. For me, I’ve found it more fun to have a small percentage in a variety of coins, so that on any given day, at least I’ll have some coin to celebrate in its rise.

Also, on the days when I find myself not owning any of the coins going up, or ‘going to the moon,’ – as the saying goes – I find it a perfect opportunity to practice being grateful and to bless and affirm all the profits that some people are making somewhere. There is no need for a competitive approach – but the whole crypto space is a new frontier with incredible potential and we can all rejoice together in the success of this amazing technology which has the power to disintermediate and save the entire humanity a lot of time and energy on paying middlemen and such – it cuts through it all! So the technology is amazing and powerful and it might very well help to advance us to a whole new way of being in the world – and to be a part of it is a fun time.

One of the greatest days I’ve had in crypto world was a day when the whole market was down big – maybe 30% on the day as a whole. For a moment, I felt bad about it. Then I realized, it was already abundant to begin with. Just to have the great fortune to be able to invest anything is amazing. To have ‘extra money’ that I can put into something like this is totally awesome, and even it goes to $0, I still could spend days counting all the blessings of this lifetime. Regardless of any financial balance, this life is an incredible blessing and there is always so much to be grateful for. Of course, when fortunes are earned, gratitude can be expressed, and equally when fortunes are lost, gratitude is available. As St. Paul said, “Give thanks in all circumstances.”

Crypto space is a great opportunity to gain some exposure to massive highs and massive lows, and to develop that ability to remain unaffected by the swings of the world. The Divine Play is always on – and there is always much to enjoy and celebrate.

Sooo grateful for this grand gift of life, this great opportunity to learn and to love and to become better and better each day, and to give and to serve!

Freedom from the mind, the thoughts, and the endless drama of how we’re right and others are wrong, of how we’ve been wronged, of how terrible things are, stories of unfairness, stories of victimhood, stories of blaming, stories of judging and criticizing and condemning, stories of lack…even the stories of abundance, the stories of joy and peace and prosperity, the stories of laughter, the stories of service…it all comes from the past or is something projected onto the future, and by future what we’re really talking about is – imagination!

Freedom from the past, freedom from the future.

Freedom from the intellect. Freedom from the burden of ‘knowing’ anything, or more accurately, ‘knowing about’ anything. Freedom from all the intellectual arrogance!

Freedom the dualities: you vs. me, us vs. them, right vs. wrong, good vs. bad…freedom from all the thoughts!

Freedom from all worry, from all fear, from all concern.

Freedom from all willfulness. Freedom from any sense that there is anything wrong.

Freedom to bask in the totality and completeness, wholeness and fullness and absolute perfection of what is here, now.

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Freedom from desires. Freedom from wanting things to be different than what they are.

Freedom from expectations. Freedom from memory. Freedom from labels and concepts. Freedom from opinions. Freedom from appointments and disappointments.

Freedom to be totally present. Freedom to just be.

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Freedom to prioritize our own happiness and peace above all else. Freedom to prioritize God above all else. Freedom to prioritize our own personal truth above all else.

Freedom to act righteously if we feel there is something to be righteous about. Freedom to flow and express however is most natural and effortless. Freedom to live spontaneously.

Freedom to watch and witness the grand show, the Divine Play, without getting caught in it, and without identifying with any of it.

Freedom to surrender everything to God. Freedom to let go entirely of everything and just let God.

Freedom to let go and forgive the entire past, and let go of any thoughts about the future. Freedom to be with a mind as blank and pure and empty as a newborn baby. Freedom to know and be only Love and that is it and that is all.

Freedom to smile and not only act cheerfully but to be truly joyful and cheerfully even in seemingly bad circumstances. Freedom to enjoy every moment, no matter what is happening. Freedom to know God in everyone and everything, and to bask in the glory that everything is God, and/or everything is God’s Will, and everything that happens is for the very best.

Freedom to relax into the glory of the great Spiritual Teachings and Truth shared by so many and affirmed regularly throughout history: the Truth shared by Jesus, Buddha, Krishna, the Upanishads, the Vedas,

Freedom to not know anything. Freedom to see the absolute highest good in everyone and everything. Freedom to relax like a baby in the arms of the Mother, in the arms of the Lord.

Freedom to let go and let God. Freedom to surrender all thoughts and thinking to God.

The Spiritual Goal! Kind of like…seeing the Unseen. That’s greater than billions of bucks, right?

So then….

If the goal is to know God, that which is Omnipresent, Omnipotent, and Omniscient, then that same Power would infinitely support us on the journey to That.

With the awareness that we are infinitely supported by the Supreme & All-Powerful One, then we can fully commit our every moment of consciousness to That without concern for anything outside of That.

Ultimately, nothing is actually outside of That anyway, so let me explain further. The mind likes to think, and the mind/ego thinks that it is separate and lives and dies and therefore it thinks to perpetuate its own survival, so it thinks. Really, survival is totally up to God, and basically the ego/mind doesn’t have any authority over the matter. Alas, the ego/mind loves to think that it has power and sovereignty, when in reality all power is God’s.

So – we’re dealing with the ego/mind that is totally caught in an illusion of separateness which results in fear which leads to selfish, even destructive behavior. The ego/mind loves to spend its time thinking about material gain, be it money or food or developing new skills and abilities and learning new things that will all serve to perpetuate its own survival, sometimes at the cost of hurting others. But, really, the ego/mind doesn’t care so much about others, except to the extent that others serve its own survival and thriving. The ego/mind’s anthem is, “I, me, and mine!” The ego wants and wants and wants. It is focused on gaining and getting, not giving. So, beware!

In Reality, the Highest in us has no needs or wants or desires. All is already total and complete and perfect.

So then, what are the consequences of this for us?

It means, in Reality, totally truthfully and with supreme, unshakeable faith, we don’t ever have to think about food, money, sensual pleasure, education, other people, etc. Truly, we don’t have to think about anything. All thinking is ultimately a vanity – a vanity because thinking presumes there is a need to think because there is some sense of doubt that which is All-Powerful and Perfect caring for one and all every moment. With absolute, total and complete faith in God, there is no reason to think. God takes care of what needs taking care, and all the power is God’s anyway, so what purpose could our thinking possible serve? It is a vanity! Thinking is vain.

Whenever we think, whenever we catch the mind thinking – we don’t have to be hard on ourselves for forgetting the infinite power and perfection of God. Ideally, just be aware! Watch the thinking. Witness the ego/mind perpetuating its illusion of separateness and fear and anxiety and worry and doubt…and on some level allow for a deep relaxation into the arms of the Lord. Just relax. The ego/mind thinking is like a clenched fist – and on some level the Higher part of us is to unclench the fist and just relax. Trust in God. What good will thinking really do?

As you are probably well aware, the mind thinks, seemingly endlessly. So, our mission isn’t to stop the mind thinking entirely, but instead, to just be aware of it. And, if we find being aware of it is too challenging, we can at least re-direct the thoughts to something more spiritual and less vain and selfish. So, direct the thoughts to some spiritual practice – like self-inquiry, or focus on God or qualities of God. Inhale Love, exhale Peace. You can spend the rest of your life doing that. Just Trust. Or, simply ask, “What am I?” and whenever a thought arises, just ask again, “To what does this thought arise? To me! Well…what am I?” The true answer to “What am I?” is silent and non-verbal. So don’t allow the mind to verbally answer it without questioning t again. Our task is to not let the mind get away with any of its vain nonsense. Master the mind, purify the thoughts, transcend all fear and the desire to think, and be free. Relax in the infinite love and peace of the Lord.

But – alas! – sometimes life is not idealized, and sometimes – in moments – I wouldn’t internally accept that Love is really what matters, and not whatever ego-drama that I’m juicing. The ego loves its drama, and if we are caught in the drama of the ego, we won’t have the awareness to sincerely surrender to the Truth that Love and Peace is really what matters, not our own greed, selfishness, anger, righteousness, etc.

So…God help us in those moments when we don’t accept that Love and Peace and the Supreme Truth is what really matters. God help us when we get caught in lesser, petty, illusionary ego-truths and dramas.

All the Spiritual Teachers of every tradition basically say the same thing…and it is something like:

Love and Peace is the Ultimate Law of the Universe

All fear is an illusion. Perfect Love casts out fear.

Walk straight ahead – no matter what – committed to Spiritual Truth

Value that which is unseen and permanent, not that which is seen, ever-changing, and impermanent. Store up treasures in Heaven, not on earth.

You shall know the Truth and the Truth shall set you free.

The Best do not compete.

Love everyone and everything, unconditionally, no matter what. Unconditional Love is possible for us all!

Peace is Within. Happiness is Within. The Kingdom of God is Within. Everything that you truly and most deeply seek, you already have – in fact, thou art that! You are not separate from that which you seek.

We are all One. There is no other. Separateness is an illusion.

Judge not. Instead of judging and trying to change and control others, be the change you want to see in the world. Give up trying to save the world and do the inner-work that transforms all of life.

Reality is already perfect, total and complete. So are you. Only illusion would tell you otherwise. God is all-powerful, all-knowing, everywhere present. Ultimately, there is nothing but God – everything is God – and God is Love and Peace and nothing else.

One sure sign of spiritual growth is beginning to realize the inherent perfection and beauty of everyone and everything – even dented old trash cans down dark alleys. Perfection, Beauty, and the Glory of God shines forth from everyone and everything.

All the Power and Glory is God’s. Without God, not even a speck of dust moves. Nothing happens without God’s Will. Ultimately, everything that happen is God’s Deed, and it is all for Good. Everything is for Good – even if our limited human intellect and ego cannot see it or understand – everything serves its divine purpose. Even Hitler and his story now clearly serves all humanity and is learned about in classrooms worldwide.

There is a part of us (ego) that needs purifying and ultimately transcending. The spiritual journey is not a process of acquiring but rather one of letting go and surrendering. We give up everything that stands in the way of us and God, which ultimately is just ignorance. We surrender our ignorance and intellectual arrogance to God, and in return we realize the state of Enlightenment. Everything is already Perfect and Beautiful, we just don’t realize it because of our intellectual ideas and thinking process.

The primary error we all suffer from is ignorance of the Supreme Truth. The ignorance we live in generally consists of identifying with a physical body and mind rather than an invisible, eternal Spirit, and we perpetuate feelings of separateness which lead to fear and generally negative experiences of Reality. When we come into the Truth which transforms our relationship and understanding of Reality, there is only Love, only God, only Goodness.

Om 🙂

Disclaimer: some of the above points might not be corroborated by every major religious tradition across the world, but my guess is…they are. Every one of the points at least comes from some verified spiritual text or teacher and none were ‘made up by me.’ So, God’s Will whatever happens 🙂

Happiness is not dependent on anything outside of ourselves. The Source of Happiness is Within. We need not go looking for Happiness – it is with us always.

To access this ever-present Happiness, the key is – awareness. As Bob Proctor says, “All you will ever need for fulfillment in life is awareness.” Similarly, all you will ever need for happiness in life is awareness.

What is awareness? You can think of awareness as the prevailing context of life which you experience. Awareness is similar to our attitude. For happiness, focus awareness on the Presence of Happiness. Act as if Happiness is already present, and soon it will reveal that it has, in fact, always been present. It is not anywhere outside, but it is entirely within and accessible every moment.

Another way to access this ever-present Happiness is to shift one’s attitude. The attitude represents the context which we think we live in. Do we play the role of victim regularly? Or do we own responsibility for everything we do, or even for everything others do too? The level of responsibility we accept in our lives reflects the level of empowerment we feel, which reflects our attitude. Everything reflects! The more we accept responsibility for everything about our lives, the more we own the Reality that awareness of Happiness and the experience of Happiness is a choice we can make moment-to-moment-to-moment.

To cultivate an attitude of Happiness, focus on the positive. The mind is a double-edged sword. It can be used to invent atom bombs or cure disease. It is up to us how we put it to use. The mind is a tool for us to use – so let us rise to the level of responsibility where we train the mind to be used only for good. To train the mind to live in an awareness of Happiness, look for the good in everyone and everything. Look for the Beauty. Honor the Sacredness. We need not focus on people’s negative qualities. We can choose to focus on all the things we admire in others – and if we keep on looking – we will certainly find things to admire in everyone and everything. We begin to appreciate everything around us, and feelings of appreciation uplift us to higher realizations of Happiness. We can look at a trash can as trash or we can see it as a Divine Sculpture. It is up to us. We have that freedom. Train the mind and all the senses to be aware of that Divine Essence in All, and Happiness is guaranteed.

If Happiness is always available and present, why don’t we continuously experience? Desires, opinions, judgments – in a word – ego. The Buddha said the source of all suffering is desires, and desires arise from our opinions and pseudo-knowledge about things. Really, it is all just ignorance. We desire things that aren’t really good for us, but we think they are. The big leap of faith and liberation comes when we say, “Not my will but Thy Will Be Done.” We trust in God. We see that the ego/mind is constantly playing a game of sense gratification and selfish gain, and we accept that there is something far greater than these fleeting phenomena. When we say, “Thy Will Be Done,” we are surrendering our intellectual arrogance and vanity, and in turn we realize our freedom. One of the greatest reliefs is to fully accept and embrace, “I know nothing!” Try it out.

When we look at things thinking we know something, we judge them and set them up as good or bad. Ultimately, we suffer. The ego loves to have a sense of being right, but the Higher Self can accept all things are equally created and Divine by Nature.

So, the key to Happiness?

Accept it! It is already present. Just be aware of it. Enjoy its Presence!

Look for it everywhere in everything. It is always Present. Goodness abounds – Beauty abounds!

Isn’t focusing on getting and gaining and experiencing things just for ourselves exhausting?

A neat trick for increased energy, perhaps unlimited, is to let go of all selfish concern and align totally with serving and giving. In a pure, dedicated, devotional spirit of serving and giving, the human vessel becomes like the Energizer Bunny. It can keep going on and on and on! Selfless service, giving, and generosity are incredibly energizing. Connected with a pure intention, we hardly ever need to sleep. And, when we do sleep, even that sleep is aligned with the pure intention, and we honor that by sleeping we are serving. Every moment is an opportunity to align with the pure spirit of serving and giving.

Even eating can be performed in a spirit of service. Enjoying the food and being in a relaxed state of peace while eating is a service itself, and the eating can also be understood to nourish the body so that it can continue to serve, physically and mentally. The spiritual service is every moment, internally a matter of attitude and awareness, and then whatever acts happen externally on the physical plane of the world are just a way that pure internal intention manifests. Ultimately, the service is in being joyful and peaceful itself, and only goodness can flow from that internal awareness.

Sometimes, in the moment, we might pose the question, “How can I serve?” and we might find it seems like there is nothing externally to be done. In moments like those, we can simply direct the awareness within, do our best to abide in a peaceful and loving energy field, and perhaps – if you feel so inclined – send out silent blessings to everyone and everything around us. Silently blessing is a service opportunity available to us every moment. And when we bless something, it doesn’t even have to be an animate object, much less a human. We can always bless inanimate objects like computers, mugs, cell phones, sidewalks, etc. So, as you can see, the opportunities to bless are limitless! As are the opportunities to serve and give 🙂

When we align with the spirit of service and giving, we free ourselves from the limited confines of the small human identity. We realize we are here not just for our small selves, but we are here for the whole. What good are we if we are not of service to the whole? If we are only focused on gaining for ourselves and experiencing pleasure for ourselves, who really cares if we are around, anyway? It is a joy to be a service, and truly the gift is in giving itself. The giver of a gift is actually the one who receives, because every time we give is an opportunity for us to get outside of our ego and our selfishness and expand our identity to that of a servant of humanity, a spark of the Divine.

So forget about being happy – in many ways that is a selfish concern. Rather, just focus on serving and giving and loving, regardless of whatever brings you – just focus on being a servant of all humanity and loving all of life – and all the happiness will follow. So yes, you might say you are serving to be happy – and really that’s all fine because it all leads us to the same Supreme Truth, and that pure loving energy that is beyond all thoughts and beyond all selfishness.